


Needs and Wants

by blackredpanda



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Angst, Flash Fic, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 23:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21145244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackredpanda/pseuds/blackredpanda
Summary: It was clear to Zero that Axl needed rest.(Whumptober 2019alt prompt 14: Touch-starved)





	Needs and Wants

Axl was curled up in the corner of the vehicle bay, fast asleep.

If someone had assigned him to maintenance this shift, after his run of back-to-back fieldwork the last two weeks, Zero was going to wring their neck. And if Axl had taken this detail himself, that went double. Shaking his head, he knelt down, scooped the smaller Reploid into his arms, and headed down the hallway. At least it wouldn't take too long to get Axl a proper recharge.

...If that was all. Low power shouldn't make him shiver like that.

Zero quickened his pace, his brow furrowed. He'd have to check whether Axl needed any repairs; hopefully it was nothing serious. Maybe he just didn't like being held.

* * *

_Zero...?_

As Axl took in the steady rhythm of Zero's steps, he held as still as he could and squeezed his eyes shut. Zero didn't need to know he'd woken up.

While the Maverick Hunters were rehabilitating him, he was entitled to recharges and shelter. So Zero didn't need to pick him up, or carry him, or set him down gently in the medbay and ask the Lifesavers to run scans. These were rewards.

"...Nothing we can see right now," a Lifesaver said, dim and distant to Axl's audio receptors. "I'd say it's overwork and poor recharging practice. We'll keep you updated on his status."

"See to it," Zero replied. His footsteps faded away, and Axl shrank down onto the bed, biting back his cry.

Zero absolutely did not need to let him hold on for just one moment...


End file.
